Automated sports target system

ABSTRACT

This present disclosure is directed to a movable target system intended for sports and activities. Two vertical support members are coupled with a target to create the system. The target is coupled to four component housings, located on the vertical support members, that contain an electric motor and processor that controls movement. Two target sensors are positioned in the system; one coupled to the target, and the other coupled to a vertical support member are used to detect movement through the target and between the two vertical support members. A database of positions loaded onto the processor that have corresponding decision weights for each position. The positions are selected by either the stationary randomizer function or the moving target randomizer function. Shooting statistics are recorded and used to update the target position database decision weights to challenge the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The ideas expressed below relate to sport and activity targeting systems capable of randomized movement.

BACKGROUND

This section introduces aspects that may help facilitate a better understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, these statements are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is or is not prior art.

Most sports played throughout the world today involve movement, through throwing, hitting, or shooting, of some type of ball or other projectile. This list could include, but is not limited to; Lacrosse, baseball, softball, hockey, soccer, shooting, paintball, and archery. Practice of these sports requires a backdrop or target system to aim at when practicing certain aspects of the applicable sport. For example, lacrosse and baseball may have a standing stationary net, while archery and shooting might have hanging wood and/or metal targets.

In each of the previously mentioned sports, a key method of practice and perfecting one's craft is aiming at a moving target. It would be advantageous for someone practicing a sport like those mentioned above to practice on a target capable of movement to add an increased level of difficulty. Such a described target would be capable of moving in any number of defined paths creating a sense of randomness and variability. However, there are no such moving targets in the prior art.

Thus, there is an unmet need for a target system capable of movement to help train athletes and others where the target is adapted to move according to various vectors.

SUMMARY

Certain representations in scope with the originally claimed subject matter are expressed in the description below. The ideas expressed are meant to establish an example of possible forms of the previously mentioned subject matter. In a representation, the target system includes at least two vertical support members capable of being mounted or otherwise attached to a surface and a target which moves in the space defined by the placement of the at least two vertical support members. The target system includes a plurality of electrical motors which communicate with one another to define the targets movement patterns and are attached to both the moving target, and the at least two vertical support members. In addition, the target system includes one or more sensors attached to the target capable of detecting motion or light. Lastly, the target system is to contain a controller capable of processing computer given information to control the movement of the plurality of electrical motors.

The target system is mobilized by a method of calibrating these plurality of electrical motors. These motors receive a database that is programmed with potential target positions. These positions each have a decision weight representing the likelihood of an open scoring position. A statistic sheet is then initialized. The target system can also be set to the user's preference of movement. Based on the user's preference and the received database of potential target positions, the target movement system is actuated to achieve a first position. This is based on: a stationary randomizer function where movement occurs after a target event is triggered or a moving target randomizer function where movement occurs after the expiration of a timer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B of the drawings are front views of a target system coupled to two vertical support members provided at different target positions.

FIG. 2 of the drawings is a side view of FIG. 1A.

FIG. 3 of the drawings is a side view drawing of the component housing.

FIG. 4 of the drawings is a front view of an individual electric motor located in the component housing.

FIG. 5 of the drawings is a startup function flow diagram.

FIG. 6 of the drawings is a flow diagram for the stationary randomizer function from FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 of the drawings is a flow diagram for the moving target randomizer function from FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For the purposes of promoting an understanding of the principles of the present disclosure, reference will now be made to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of this disclosure is thereby intended.

In the present disclosure, the term “about” can allow for a degree of variability in a value or range, for example, within 10%, within 5%, or within 1% of a stated value or of a stated limit of a range.

In the present disclosure, the term “substantially” can allow for a degree of variability in a value or range, for example, within 90%, within 95%, or within 99% of a stated value or of a stated limit of a range.

A target system capable of movement to help train athletes and others where the target is adapted to move according to various vectors is described in the present disclosure. Surrounding any ball or projectile related sport or activity, it is standard practice to perfect the athletes craft by aiming at some target related system when practicing. The aforementioned sports or activities could range from anything such as lacrosse to archery. During the practice of one of these sports or activities the athlete would typically set up some sort of object such as a target in which to take aim. As would be expected, the size, shape, and function of the target would vary widely depending upon the sport or activity in question. For example, in the case of baseball, the player would throw the ball toward a target that is typically 6′×6′ and may contain a net as a backstop. This would be considered unlike archery in which the athlete would shoot an arrow into something far different like a circular block of wood to stop it. With the use of a target to aid in practice of one of the aforementioned it would be a natural next step to try and imitate some sort of movement in the target system. Many of the applicable sports or activities are team oriented and it is an essential skill to be able to place the projectile at hand into or at a moving target. As such, it would be considered beneficial to design a target capable of movement that spans as many ball or projectile based sports or activities as possible.

FIG. 1A depicts a front plane view of the target system previously mentioned. The illustrated embodiment includes both a system, as well as six individual components. The aforementioned moveable targeting system is defined by at least two vertical support members 2, which are configured to be attached to a surface. Attached to the at least two vertical support members 2, are at least four component housings 1, the purpose of which is to contain several components of which will be explained in following sections. Also depicted in this illustration is a target 4, which is connected to at least two vertical support members 2, via four attachment members 7. As previously discussed, the shape and size of target 4, could vary for each target system application and therefore includes but is not limited to a circle or regular polygon shape. The four attachment members 7 are to be located on equidistant vertices of the target. In the case of a square target 4 shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, these four equidistant vertices are located on the side planes of the four corners of the target 4.

FIG. 1B further depicts the previously mentioned target 4, in a different orientation than shown in FIG. 1A. This figure is present to illustrate the idea that the target 4, is capable of many position locations which is to be presented in following sections. Furthermore, FIGS. 1A and 1B depict two sensors 5 and 6, which are capable of detecting movement or light thereof. The first target sensor 5, is to detect movement or light thereof passing through the opening of the target 4. Conversely, the second vertical member sensor 6, is present for the capability of detecting movement or light thereof through the space defined between the placement of the at least two vertical members 2.

FIG. 2 exists for the purpose of illustrating the defined target system from a side view. The view illustrated in FIG. 2 better depicts the standard combination and layout of the previously mentioned components. The orientation and mounting of the component housings 1, is much more easily explained through the illustration of FIG. 1. With the previously mentioned descriptions in mind, no new material is presented in FIG. 2.

Continuing to FIG. 3, a component housing 1, as well as the hardware associated with mounting it to the at least two vertical members 2 is depicted. At the forefront is the main shell 10, of the component housing 1. The shell 10, of the component housing 1, is used to house and protect components to be described in following sections. Attached to the main shell 10, is a pivot-able, door like opening 8, that allows easy access to the components by the user. This pivoting of the door like opening 8, is made possible through a smooth pin 9, inserted through both the door 8, and shell 10. Also present, located on the front face of the main shell 10, are two switches, 18 and 41. The switch located to the right 18, represents an on off switch, while the other, 41, is a function selection switch. The function to which this corresponds to directly will be referenced in the later sections.

Furthermore, in this embodiment is a bracket 14, capable of sliding over any of the at least two vertical members 2 and locked in place. This bracket 14, is attachable to the main component housing shell 10, via two threaded bolts 12, and two nuts 11 equally spaced along the component housing 10 and bracket 14. Included in FIG. 3 is two threaded rods 3, as well as two handles 13, into which they are threaded. The function of these threaded rod 3 and handle 13 combinations is to prevent slippage of the entire component housing 1, in the vertical direction along the at least two vertical members 2 they are slid onto. This slippage is prevented by tightening the handle 13, threading the bolt 3 attached, through a hole in the bracket 14, into the vertical member 2. Threading the bolt 3 into the vertical member 2 shown as a cross section here will cause friction and or a slight indentation preventing slippage of the component housing 1 as a whole.

FIG. 4 is a cutaway of the component housing 1, showing the components that have been referenced throughout previous sections. Present in this figure are four new components not yet explained. The largest component, shown on the left side of the figure, is the processor 15. This processor 15 is to be in constant contact with the electric motor 16, shown to the right of the processor 15. The steps of this function and its implementation is to be explained in further detail in the following sections. Shown above, and attached to, the previously introduced electric motor 16, is a spindle 17 of sorts used to wind and unwind the four attachment members 7. One of these four attachment members 7, are to be wrapped around the spindle 17, and threaded through a hole 19, in the side of the component housing shell 10.

Beginning with FIG. 5 is the functional breakdown surrounding how the target 4, is capable of movement in an infinite number of paths. FIG. 5 is a flowchart that, in essence, breaks down the startup steps of the target system capable of movement throughout an infinite number of paths. As laid out above, the startup 20, shown in FIG. 5 begins with initialization and calibration of the target 4, target sensor 5, and vertical target member sensor 6. This initialization and calibration during start up 20, is possible by pulling data stored in the target position database 21, located in the processor 15. The target position database 21 would be a set of possible target positions with a corresponding decision weight that would be catered to each sport or activity objective. For example, a baseball pitcher target position database 21, would have higher decision weights for target positions designated in the strike zone. Following this start up 20, is the need to select a target function 23. Target function selection 23, is actuated by the user pressing the function selector switch 41, into either the stationary randomizer function 22, or moving target randomizer function 24, position. This received target movement choice 39 is shown above as driving the function selection 23.

FIG. 6 illustrates the first of the two options presented in the section above being that of the stationary randomizer function 22. At the beginning of the stationary randomizer function 22, is the target 4 having a target position selected 26. This selected target position 26, is generated from pulling data from the target position database 21 mentioned earlier. These positions are stored and selected from the processor 15. The target position is selected by a weighted random position generator, wherein the decision weights corresponding to target positions are used to have more preferable target positions occur more often. When the processor 15 selects a position for the target 4, the plurality electric motors 16 is activated allowing the spindle 17 to wind and unwind the attachment members 7 in turn allowing the target 4 to move and change positions.

After a position is selected, and the previously mentioned steps are carried out, actuation vectors are calculated 29, to aid in the movement of the target into the selected target position. These vectors are calculated by determining the shortest path for the target to take to get to the new selected position. The target is then moved 37 by actuating the plurality of electric motors 16 and held in the selected position 25. Following this step, the athlete would shoot, launch, or any variation thereof, the projectile or light thereof in question at the opening of target 4. Following this action, several steps could possibly follow. In the event that only the vertical support sensor 6, residing on one of the at least two vertical support members 2 is triggered 28, this would result in a “miss” and the miss would be added to the stat sheet 32. A “miss” being defined as the projectile or light thereof passing through the two vertical support members 2, but not through the target 4. As the flow chart FIG. 6 illustrates, this would result in a loop of the previous steps until the user manually ends the function 27, or a “goal” is achieved. For the function to be ended manually, 27, the user would have to create an input 40, triggering this event. This input 40, is created by the user pushing the on off switch 18 into the off position. In the event that both the sensor 6, residing on one of the at least two vertical support members 2, and the target sensor 5, residing on the target 4, are triggered 30, a “goal” would be recorded to the stat sheet 34. A “goal” being defined as the projectile or light thereof passing through both the two vertical support members 2 and the target 4. When a goal is added to the stat sheet 34, this allows the processor 15 to modify the decision weight associated with the current target position based upon stats recorded with the current position in which the goal was achieved 33. For example, in the event that no “misses” are recorded to the stat sheet 32 before a “goal” was recorded in the stat sheet 34, the decision weight would be decreased so the target position would not occur as often as before. This is because the user has shown mastery the objective for this target position. In the event that seventeen “misses” are recorded to the stat sheet 32 before a “goal” is recorded in the stat sheet 34, the decision weight would be increased so the target position occurs more often as before. This is because the user has not shown mastery of the objective for this target position. In this event, as FIG. 6 illustrates, the processor 15 selects a new target position 26. Based on the criteria laid out previously, this set of loops will continue until the user makes the decision to manually end the function 27. When the user decides to manually end the function 27, the current target position decision weight is modified by the processor 15 from the current stats and then the function is ended.

Opposed to the option illustrated in FIG. 6, FIG. 7 is the moving target randomizer function 24. When comparing the two previously mentioned figures, it becomes apparent that they are very closely related with only two paths of the figures being different. The first of these paths revolves around the expiration of a timer set to a predetermined number of seconds 35. To begin any of the four paths displayed, much like FIG. 6, a target position 26 must first be selected. Selection of the position is again done by using a weighted random position generator, wherein the decision weights corresponding to target positions are used to have more preferable target positions occur more often. Where FIG. 7. begins to deviate from the previous figure is after the calculation vectors are actuated 29. In contrast to FIG. 6, where the target is simply moved 37, in FIG. 7, an element of time is introduced, and the target is instead moved, and a timer of a predetermined length will begin to record 38. As FIG. 7 explains, if a predetermined number of seconds is allowed to expire 35, without a “goal” the stat sheet is modified 31, the target position decision weight is modified 33, and the target 4 moves to a new position 29. The other path of which is different from the previous figure, FIG. 6, is the path to the far right surrounding the vertical support member sensor 5 and target sensor 6, being triggered before an allotted time expires 36. In the event both sensors, 5 and 6 are triggered, the goal is added to the stat sheet 34, the target position decision weight is modified 33, and a new position for the target 4 is selected 26. The timer adds another statistic to account for when modifying the target position decision weight. Taking the timer statistic into account when modifying target position decision weight is done to challenge the shooter to target positions they are less successful at obtaining goals in during the predetermined amount of time. This function is used to mimic the lack of time and increased pressure a user is put under when performing in an athletic event. Aside from the two paths 35 and 36, introduced above, no new information is presented in FIG. 7.

Those having ordinary skill in the art will recognize that numerous modifications can be made to the specific implementations described above. The implementations should not be limited to the particular limitations described. Other implementations may be possible. 

1. A moveable target system, comprising: a frame including at least two vertical support members configured to be attached to a surface; a target coupled to the at least two vertical support members, wherein the target is configured to receive light or a moving object; a plurality of electrical motors coupled to the target; four attachment members coupled to each corner of the target and adapted to couple the target to the plurality of motors; a controller having a processor adapted to execute a computer-readable program encoded on the controller; a computer-readable program encompassing: a plurality of motors being calibrated; a statistics sheet being initialized; a database of potential target positions each having a corresponding decision weight; a target receiving a movement choice; and based on the received target movement choice and the received database of potential target positions, a target movement system being actuated to achieve a first target position according to; (i) a stationary randomizer function, or (ii) a moving target randomizer function.
 2. The target system of claim 1, wherein one or more sensors are coupled to the target and adapted to detect reception of light or the moving object through the target.
 3. The target system of claim 1, wherein one or more sensors coupled to the vertical support members and adapted to detect reception of light or the moving object through the vertical support members.
 4. The target system of claim 1, wherein the target is coupled to the at least two vertical members by method of the four attachment members.
 5. The target system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of the attachment members are located on equidistant vertices of the target.
 6. The target system of claim 1, wherein the plurality of electrical motors are to be in constant contact with one another to execute proper movement of the target.
 7. The target system of claim 4, wherein the plurality of electric motors are housed individually in component housings.
 8. The target system of claim 1, wherein the target, capable of movement, is a plurality of members oriented and fixed to each other to form a circular or regular polygonal shape.
 9. The target system of claim 1, wherein the actuating target movement system stationary randomizer function includes: a plurality of target positions and corresponding decision weights received from a database; a target position that is selected from the received plurality of target positions; actuation vectors that are calculated for the plurality of motors; and the plurality of motors that is actuated according to the calculated actuation vectors.
 10. The target system of claim 9, wherein the actuating target movement system stationary randomizer function includes: an end function choice, where the current target position decision weight is modified accordingly and the function is ended; a vertical member sensor receiving a trigger that causes a miss to be recorded in a stat sheet; and a vertical member and target sensor receiving a trigger that causes a goal to be recorded in the stat sheet and modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly.
 11. The target system of claim 1, wherein the actuating target movement system moving target randomizer function includes: a plurality of target positions and corresponding decision weights received from a database; a target position that is selected from the received plurality of target positions; actuation vectors that are calculated for the plurality of motors; the plurality of motors that is actuated according to the calculated actuation vectors; and a timer.
 12. The target system of claim 11, wherein the actuating target movement system moving target randomizer function includes: an end function choice, where the current target position decision weight is modified accordingly and the function is ended; a vertical member sensor receiving a trigger that causes a miss to be recorded in a stat sheet; a vertical member and target sensor receiving a trigger before the expiration the timer that causes a goal to be recorded in the stat sheet and modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly; and a timer expiration trigger that modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly.
 13. A method for moving a sports target, comprising: calibrating a plurality of motors; receiving a database of potential target positions each having a corresponding decision weight; initializing a statistics sheet; receiving a target movement choice; and based on the received target movement choice and the received database of potential target positions, actuating target movement system to achieve a first target position according to; (i) a stationary randomizer function until a target event has been triggered at which point the target movement system is actuated to a second target position, or (ii) a moving target randomizer function until one of a timer expiration has occurred or a target event has been triggered at which point the target movement system is actuated to a second target position.
 14. The method of claim 13, wherein the actuating target movement system stationary randomizer function further includes: receiving a plurality of target positions from a database; selecting a target position from the received plurality of target positions; calculating actuation vectors for the plurality of motors; and actuating the plurality of motors according to the calculated actuation vectors.
 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the actuating target movement system stationary randomizer function includes: receiving a manual ending choice that modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly and ends the function; receiving a vertical member sensor trigger that causes a miss to be recorded in a stat sheet; and receiving a vertical member and target sensor trigger that causes a goal to be recorded in the stat sheet and modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein the actuating target movement system moving target randomizer function includes: receiving a plurality of target positions from a database; selecting a target position from the received plurality of target positions; calculating actuation vectors for the plurality of motors; actuating the plurality of motors according to the calculated actuation vectors; and starting a timer.
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the actuating target movement system moving target randomizer function includes: receiving a manual ending choice, that modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly, and ends the function; receiving a vertical member sensor trigger that causes a miss to be recorded in a stat sheet; receiving a vertical member and target sensor trigger before the expiration of a timer that causes a goal to be recorded in the stat sheet and modifies the current target position decision weight accordingly; and receiving a timer expiration trigger and modifying the current target position decision weight accordingly. 